A Passion For Creativity

Unleash Your Creativity, by Mary Sara Pipia

A Fun Night at Stamp Club January 31, 2010

Filed under: Creativity, General, Holidays, Stamp Club 2010 — marysarapipia @ 12:50 pm
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

This year I decided to bring my card making and stamping to a new level.  So, I signed up for the Stamp Club at Colorful Creations, a local scrapbooking store in Hyannis, that meets once a month.  I think it’s worth it as it will help push my creativity to a new level.  It’s also fun to meet new people who share your love of stamping, get inspired and see what other people come up with interpreting the swaps and challenges.  Doing the monthly card swaps will help me try new things and push me to do things I might not.  This month was the first meeting where we did a Valentine’s Day card swap. Here’s the card I did.

I used a pink card base and layered brown Bazzil cardstock and Memorybox SC-Coolbeans stripped paper as the base. 

I also used the Memorybox Branch Heart rubber stamp, that I fell in love with.  I stamped it in the Memento Rich Cocoa because I thought I might color it with my Copics, but didn’t.  Instead I used my Quickie glue pen on parts of the heart and then added Hot Pink Sparkly Fluff that I discovered when Tim Holtz used them on his 12 Tags of Christmas.  I love this stuff.  It’s fluff with a sparkle and it’s very easy to use, a tad messy, but worth it.  

To finish the card, I hole punched two holes at the center of the heart on the top and put through some hot pink May Arts pink silky ribbon and tied a bow with tails.  I thought it needed something else, so added three brown glittery pearls in the lower right hand corner.  Inside I just stamped Happy Valentine’s Day. 

Are you doing Valentine’s Day cards?    I’ll post more Valentine Day projects that I’m working on in the next couple of weeks, so I hope that you check back again.  Thanks for visiting and remember, do something creative today.

 

An A Musing Day January 18, 2010

Filed under: Creativity, General — marysarapipia @ 10:34 pm
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Yesterday, I spent the day with fellow A Muse stamp addicts from Massachusetts and New Hampshire for my second time.  We met at Ink About It in Westford, MA.  It was a fun-filled day with friends (new and old), laughs and lots of creativity and stamping going on for five hours.  We did a shoebox project swap, where we bring the supplies for everyone to do your project and we pass them around the tables.  I was lucky enough to get to make 22 out of 23 cards.  All that creativity was inspiring.  

I decided to do my project for Valentine’s Day and what’s Valentine’s Day without chocolate?  So, I decided to do a Hershey’s chocolate bar candy wrapper for Valentine’s Day.  What a fun, quick and easy gift to give to your friend, co-worker or neighbor.  My sister did this at Christmas, so I “borrowed” her idea.  Special thanks to Linda and Amy C. for coordinating another fun gathering of the New England A Muse addicts. 

Supplies:   A Muse stamps, sheer red ribbon and heart twinkle bling.  I used stripped paper I got at Michael’s from GCD Studios and Red Carpet Bazzil Bling card stock,  Art Institute ultra fine glitter (True Red, Hot Kiss) and Chalk Ink in Chestnut Brown.  I cut the paper into 6″x6″ squares and trimmed 1/4″ off so that it would fit the candy bar and scored at 1 1/2″ and 4 1/4″ and used adhesive to close the wrapper.  I used two heart punches for the tag. 

I ended this wonderful, creative day with dinner in Boston with two very close friends.  We couldn’t believe we finally were able to connect since we’ve tried for months to get all three of us together.  It was wonderful food, great conversation, but most important was the time spent with friends.  What a great way to spend a Sunday in January.  How did you spend your Sunday and remember to do something creative this week.

 

Happy 2010! January 1, 2010

Filed under: Holidays — marysarapipia @ 10:27 am
Tags: ,

Welcome 2010!  I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season and want to wish all of you a safe, healthy and creative 2010. 

 

A December Weekend December 14, 2009

Filed under: General, Holidays — marysarapipia @ 10:39 pm
Tags: , , , , , ,

Where is the month of December going?  I took Friday off to get some things done and it was extremely cold so it slowed me down a bit.   Saturday, I ended up staying in and worked on decorating my home and finished decorating my Christmas tree.  I went out to find tinsel for the tree, like we used when I was growing up and can’t find it.  Does anyone use tinsel any more?  Not sure where to find it, any one have suggestions? 

Sunday was a fun day spent at my cousin’s.  We made chocolate covered pretzels and peppermint bark and this fun party mix that we had at Thanksgiving and that I have to stop eating.   We learned that white chocolate is very temperamental and doesn’t like to be combined with peppermint oil.  It was a fun day and my cousin’s four-year old son was very helpful with decorating the chocolate covered pretzels.  He had a lot of fun and was so excited to share with his nursery school class today.  

Tonight, I tried to make  Ghiradelli English Toffee for the first time as it’s one of my favorite treats and a good present, but not sure that I cooked it long enough even though the candy thermometer registered  the correct temperature.  It looks good, so I’ll see what it tastes like tomorrow.  I’m going to be packaging it up for gifts this year. 

This weekend, I’ll start baking as well, in between a dinner party, wrapping presents and an Open House.  What are your favorite recipes at the holidays?  My dad’s mother baked at the holidays and a lot of my holiday cookie recipes come from her.  This is one tradition that I do every year.  Sometimes I make as many as eight or ten different cookies.  I still have the recipes written in my grandmother’s handwriting even though it’s starting to fade and is well-loved and used.  I’ll be making chocolate chips, brownies, toffee cookies (my mother’s favorites) and will see after that. 

While, off to finish Christmas cards so please leave a comment and let me know what you’re doing to get ready for Christmas and your favorite holiday tradition.

 

December – Where did you come from? December 9, 2009

Filed under: General, Holidays, Inspiration — marysarapipia @ 10:46 pm
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

I can’t believe that it is already December 9th.  Where is the time going?  I know it’s December because here in Boston/New England, last week it was 70 degrees and today some areas North and West of Boston and New England got walloped with snow.  It’s been just crazy weather. 

Once again, it’s been a while since I posted anything of real substance.  I caught a virus in mid-November before Thanksgiving, it wasn’t the flu, but it’s been dragging on.  So my best laid plans to share ideas with you for this Christmas season have gone a bit astray.  I love this time of the year, but not when I’m still a tad under the weather.   I did get my tree up on Monday evening and the lights are working and decorating it this weekend.

I hope to finish the Christmas cards that I started this weekend.  I will post them after I have mailed them out as I wouldn’t want someone to see the card before they get it.   I actually did a couple of different ones and really enjoy designing them.   I have also enjoyed looking at Tim Holtz’s 12 Tags of Christmas.  He does an amazing job each day and I encourage you to go and check them out and find some inspiration in them.  

I just wanted to give you a quick  update of what’s been going on and promise that I will post again in the next week with some ideas and pictures of projects I’m working on.  Hoping to make some gift tags this weekend, finish some Christmas presents and I’m going over to my cousin’s on Saturday and we’re going to have a fun time making some candy for presents.  YUMMY!

What do you like to do this time of the year?  Where do you find inspiration?  What’s your favorite holiday memory?  Post a comment here to let me know.   I will try and post over the weekend and let you know how the candy making goes, so I hope that you come back and visit again.  Until then, have a great night and do something creative this weekend and enjoy the Christmas season.

 

Happy Thanksgiving November 26, 2009

Filed under: General, Holidays — marysarapipia @ 9:00 am
Tags: , , , ,

Just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving.  This is a day to reflect, spend with family and friends and be thankful for those in your life.  I am thankful for the little things in my life as well as for family and friends.  This is also a time to think about and be grateful for our troops that are keeping us safe and are far away from their friends and family.  Just say a good thought for them.   Wishing you a safe and Happy Thanksgiving.

 

Happy Halloween and Fall Back October 31, 2009

Filed under: General, Holidays — marysarapipia @ 10:26 pm
Tags: , , ,
Trick or Treat Pumpkin

Trick or Treat

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy Halloween.  What do you do for Halloween?  Trick or Treating, a party or low-key night at home?  I just spent the evening with my friend and her family and went out trick or treating with her two boys.  It was a beautiful night in the 50’s.  Usually we’re freezing, so it was lovely to just have a sweatshirt on.  It was windy, so it gave you that “Halloween” feel with rain coming at some point overnight.  It was so much fun to see the boys dressed up and I love going out with them.   I used to go out with my godson, who’s now 16 and has moved on from trick or treating.  I hope that you had a safe and happy Halloween whatever you did and got your fill of your favorite candy.  For me it’s a toss-up between Hershey’s with almonds, Recess peanut butter cups (my sister’s favorite) and Kit Kats. 

Please don’t forget to turn the clocks back an hour tonight before bed.  Not my favorite thing to do as I hate coming home from work in the dark, but it’s part of fall, so we do it. 

 
 

Vermont in October October 21, 2009

Filed under: Creativity, General — marysarapipia @ 6:23 pm
Tags: , , , , ,

I’m heading to Vermont this weekend for a relaxing, crafting fun weekend.  Can’t wait to see some late foliage, get some Christmas cards designed and made as well as some holiday gifts.  Staying at the Whte House Inn in Wilmington, Vermont, which is an area of Vermont that I have not been to before.  I can’t wait to meet some new people and get some serious, uninterrupted creative time in.  Please check back in the next week or so for updates on my crafting Vermont weekend for pictures of some of my creations and recap of my visit.  Can’t wait to share with you.  Until then, do something creative today.

 

Amazing Creative Friday October 11, 2009

Filed under: Creativity, General, Inspiration — marysarapipia @ 9:10 pm
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Last month I signed up to take a class on a Friday afternoon with Tim Holtz at Ink About It, a stamping/scrapbook store in Westford, MA.  Wow, what an inspiration and opportunity.  Tim is Director of Education for Ranger Industries and designs his own line of products and stamps and inspires you to do amazing things.  Tim teaches classes all over the world and attends trade shows to demo and teach.  So, it was exciting to have him teaching so close to home and being able to take a class. 

Gettying Ready for Class

Gettying Ready for Class

 It was a rainy, cool Friday, so I took the afternoon off from work to be creative.  I learned how to bind a book and about metal embossing using metal and tools from Ten Second Studios.  Five hours of intense, creative juices flowing.  Tim is a great teacher and puts things in terms you can understand.  When teaching the kettle stitch he used the analogy of pouring a cup of tea, which as a tea drinker, I related to it perfectly and will remember that the next time I go to do book binding. 

Jenn Shurkus was also there and I had taken an Amuse stamp Halloween card class with her the night before, so it was fun to have a buddy in class that you could share the experience with.  I wish I had been able to sign up for his other classes but they sold out within a few hours of being offered.  What an absolutely fun afternoon.   I never thought I would enjoy this class as much as I did.

My friend Jacki was a bit jealous that she couldn’t attend with me and I wished she had been able to with me, but she loved the Tim Holtz sweatshirt I picked up for her. I have her to thank for turning me onto Tim Holtz, so I thought it only fitting to bring her a sweatshirt.  I have another treat for her that she doesn’t know about for her birthday, but opps, I guess she willl if she reads this.

It was worth the two hours of traffic and construction on a Friday night it took to get home compared to the 50 minutes it took to get there in the middle of the day with no traffic.

So who’s an amazing teacher that you have taken a class with that stretched your creativity? Or have you taken a classs with Tim? Post a comment and share your experience. 

Me and Tim Holtz after class

Me and Tim Holtz after class

 

Getting creative this summer August 11, 2009

Filed under: Creativity, General, inspiration, creativity, color — marysarapipia @ 8:22 pm
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

How’s your summer going?  It’s hard to believe that it’s the middle of August.  The warm weather seems to finally have arrived, but we still haven’t hit 90 degrees here in Boston, but I’m not complaining.  I love the sun being out and it being in the 70’s and low 80’s, perfect. 

I have been having a busy and fun summer so sorry for the lags between the postings.  I seem to be in a major day tripping and class mode.  In July, I took some fun classes and spent a Sunday afternoon with my sister at her home in Rhode Island, stamping, coloring and taking pictures in her garden.  We had a lot of fun.  This past spring, I discovered Copic Markers, at one of my local scrapbooking stores, which artists have used for years and recently “us crafters and stampers” have discovered.  The color is amazing and they are easy to use and have great ability to blend colors.  I encourage you to check them out if you are a stamper. 

Here’s a card that I stamped and colored using them when I was at my sister’s.  I fell in love this beach chair stamp from Impression Obsession, one of my favorite stamp companies.  I made this as a thank you to my friend for having me stay with her down the Cape in July.  Thought it was perfect for that or just because or as a fun summer card.  I added a shell that I had picked up at my local craft store and sand embossing powder from Stampendous, another favorite stamp company, which I think is so fun.Beachy Chair card

This past Saturday, while most people were probably at the beach enjoying the wam weather, I took a class to make an amazing fun acrylic album from Sally Lynn MacDonald, who is a Copic Certification Instructor as well as an instructor and Prima Donna for Prima Marketing and instructor for  Clear Scraps.  I was truly inspired when I met her.

I’m excited that I start vacation next week for two weeks.  I hope to get creative, check out some new craft/scrapbooking stores and do some day trips, relax and spend a few days on the Cape.  I’ll try and post when I have time during vacation.  Enjoy the last weeks of summer and make it a creative week.